on the prowl

Idioms

Actively looking for something, as in Their underpaid computer programmers are always on the prowl for better jobs. This idiom transfers an animal's search for prey to human pursuits that are usually less bloodthirsty. [c. 1800]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

That was his way of telling every living thing in those Cherokee bottoms to look out, for a mighty hunter and a bluetick hound were on the prowl.

From Literature

Side by side, and walking as quietly as tomcats on the prowl, we moved on into monkey country.

From Literature

The SG-1 Fathom is on the prowl for intruders.

From BBC

“On the Prowl” eventually became “Downbound Train.”

From Salon

Crypto kings, billionaires needing agency approvals, felons buying pardons, AI chieftains on the prowl.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023